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Frontispiece. 


No,  1914. 


THE 


ARABIAN    MARTYR. 


« Be  thou  Mhfol  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life.' 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED  BY  THE  GEN.  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL 
SUNDAY    SCHOOL 
UNION. 


V 


• 


ABDALLAH: 

OS 

THE    ARABIAN    MARTYR. 


When  our  blessed  Saviour  reproved  the  Jem 
for  their  unbelief,  he  said,  "  Other  sheep  I  have, 
which  are  not  of  this  fold :  them  also  I  must  bring, 
and  they  shall  hear  my  voice ;  and  there  shall  be 
one  fold  and  one  shepherd."  This  declaration  has 
been  fulfilling  ever  since.  In  various  parts  of  the 
world,  and  by  various  means,  people  have  been 
taught  of  God,  and  brought  to  know  Jesus  as  the 
Friend  and  Saviour  of  sinners.  The  good  seed  of 
God's  word  was  sown  in  many  nations  by  the  labors 
of  the  Apostles,  who  were  appointed  by  Jesus 
Christ  to  be  missionaries.  They  were  command- 
ed by  him  to  go  into  all  the  world,  and  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature.  Though  they  have  long 
ago  rested  from  their  labors,  and  the  people  of  many 
places  where  they  preached  have  sunk  into  Maho- 
medanism,  yet.  we  hear  of  some  being  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  Christ,  and  of  attaining  to  salvation 
through  him. 

A  great  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Arabia  are  fol- 
lowers of  Mahomed.  A  book  written  by  that  impos- 
tor, and  called  the  Koran,  is  their  guide,  as  our  Bible 
is  ours  j  only  that  the  Mahomedans  are  more  zealous 

(5) 


6  THE    ARABIAN    MARTYR. 

in  their  way  than  Christians  are  in  theirs.  This  is 
a  very  sad  reflection  upon  us.  Mahomed  was  born 
in  Arabia,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  570,  and  lived 
about  63  years.  He  determined  to  introduce  a  new 
religion,  in  order  to  obtain  the  reverence  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  thereby  in  time  to  reduce  them  under 
his  authority.  He  is  said  to  have  retired,  at  about 
forty  years  of  age,  to  a  grotto  near  Mecca,  and  there 
to  have  contrived  the  doctrines  which  he  afterward 
taught.  The  people  of  Mecca  at  first  requested  that 
he  would  work  a  miracle  publicly,  to  convince  them 
that  he  was  a  prophet, — as  Jesus  Christ  continually 
did  —  to  convince  them  that  he  had  authority  from 
heaven  :  but  Mahomed  refused  this,  and  said  it  was 
unnecessary.  He  knew  he  had  no  authority  from 
heaven,  whatever  he  pretended,  and  that  he  had  no 
power,  as  Christ  had,  to  give  sight  to  the  blind,  or 
to  heal  the  sick.  Notwithstanding  this,  by  fraud 
and  by  force,  God  suffered  the  people  to  be  imposed 
upon,  and  Mahomedanism  is  the  established  religion 
of  a  great  part  of  the  East. 

In  Arabia,  however,  the  light  of  the  Gospel  now 
begins  to  shine.  As  it  was  in  Europe,  one  and 
another  suffered  martyrdom  rather  than  continue 
the  slaves  of  sin  and  superstition  ;  and  not  till  many 
had  resisted  the  corrupt  principles  and  practices  of 
Popery,  even  unto  death,  was  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
generally  known  and  read  ;  so,  it  may  be  in  Arabia. 
The  following  history  will  show  that  God  is  mind- 
ful of  the  Arabians,  and  that  the  prophecies  con- 
cerning the  spread  of  the  Gospel  are  proceeding 


THE   ARABIAN   MARTYR.  7 

toward  their  final  accomplishment.  "Arabia  and 
Seba  are  beginning  to  stretch  out  their  hands  in 
prayer  and  praise  to  the  true  God,  and  Jesds  Christ 
whom  he  hath  sent."  The  Spirit,  we  trust,  is 
"  pouring  out  upon  them  from  on  high,  and  the 
wilderness  will  become  a  fruitful  field." 

Sabat,  the  once  intimate  friend  of  Abdallah,  (who 
is  the  son  of  Ibrahim  Sabat,  of  the  line  of  Beni 
Sabat,  who  trace  their  pedigree  to  Mahomed.)  about 
five  years  ago  came  to  Madras.  Soon  after  his  arri- 
val he  was  appointed  by  the  English  government  a 
Mufti,  or  expounder  of  Mahomedan  law,  among  the 
Mahomedan  subjects  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain. 
His  great  learning  and  respectable  station  in  his 
own  country  rendered  him  eminently  qualified  for 
that  office.  While  he  was  at  Visagapatam,  in  the 
Northern  Cicars,  exercising  his  professional  duties, 
the  good  hand  of  God  put  into  his  way  a  New  Test- 
ament, in  the  Arabic  language,  which  had  gotten  to 
India  by  means  of  the  "Venerable  Society  for  Pro- 
pagating the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts."  This  blessed 
book  he  read  with  great  seriousness,  and  compared 
its  doctrines  with  those  of  the  Koran;  and  at  length 
the  divine  truth  of  the  New  Testament  fell  on  his 
mind,  as  he  expressed  it  himself,  "  like  a  flood  of 
light."  Soon  afterward  he  proceeded  to  Madras,  a 
journey  of  three  hundred  miles,  to  obtain  Christian 
baptism ;  and,  having  made  a  public  confession  of  his 
faith,  he  was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerr,  in  the 
English  church  at  that  place,  by  the  name  of  Nathan- 
iel, in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  his  age.    When 


8  THE   ARABIAN  MARTYR. 

his  family  in  Arabia  had  heard  that  he  had  become  a 
Christian,  they  despatched  his  brother  to  India,  by  a 
voyage  of  two  months,  to  kill  him  privately.  While 
Sabat  was  sitting  in  his  house  at  Visagapatam,  his 
brother  presented  himself  in  the  disguise  of  a  fa- 
queer,  or  beggar,  having  a  dagger  concealed  under 
his  mantle.  He  rushed  on  Sabat,  and  wounded 
him;  but  Sabat  seized  his  arm,  and  his  servants 
came  to  his  assistance;  and  thus  this  pious  young 
man  was  rescued  from  death.  Here  we  see  the 
prophecy  of  our  Saviour  accomplished,  that,  for 
*  the  sake  of  religion,  a  Christian's  foes  will  often  be 
those  of  his  own  house,  and  that  an  ungodly  brother 
will  rise  up  against  a  godly  one,  and  endeavor  to 
put  him  away  from  the  earth,  as  not  fit  to  live. 
And  we  see  also,  how  God  preserves  useful  lives 
in  whom  he  will  be  glorified.  Sabat  was  destined 
of  God  to  be  very  useful  to  further  the  Gospel 
in  India;  and  therefore  God  was  his  defender. 
He  soon  discovered  that  this  disguised  beggar 
was  his  own  brother,  and  he  would  have  become 
the  victim  of  public  justice ;  but  Sabat  preserved 
his  life,  and  sent  him  home  with  letters  and  presents 
to  his  mother's  house,  in  Arabia.  This  showed  that 
Christianity  had  really  done  his  heart  good  and  dis- 
posed him  not  to  render  evil  for  evil ;  but  to  do 
good  even  to  them  that  persecuted  him ! 

Being  desirous  to  devote  his  future  life  to  the 
glory  of  God,  he  resigned  his  employ  as  an  ex- 
pounder of  Mahomedan  law,  which  he  could  scarcely 
consider  a  lawful  one  for  a  Christian,  and  came  by 


THE    ARABIAN    MARTYR.  9 

invitation  to  Bengal,  where  he  engaged  in  trans- 
lating the  Scriptures  into  the  Persian  language. 
This  most  necessary  work  has  not  hitherto  been 
executed,  for  want  of  a  translator  of  sufficient  ability. 
The  Persian  is  an  important  language  in  the  East, 
being  the  general  language  of  Western  Asia,  particu- 
larly among  the  higher  classes,  and  is  understood 
from  Calcutta  to  Damascus.  But  the  great  work 
which  occupied  the  attention  of  this  noble  Arabian, 
was  the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel  among  his  own 
cou  ntry  men.  The  first  Persian  work  which  he  finish- 
ed is  entitled  (in  English)  '  Happy  News  for  Arabia? 
and  it  is  written  in  the  Nabutti  or  common  dialect 
of  the  country.  It  contains  an  elegant  and  argu- 
mentative declaration  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  with 
copious  evidences  admitted  by  the  Mahomedans 
themselves,  and  particularly  by  the  Wahabians. 
Prefixed  to  this  Persian  book,  is  an  account  of 
the  conversion  of  the  author  to  the  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Where  true  Christianity  is  felt  and  enjoyed,  there 
will  be  a  disposition  to  make  confession  to  God,  and 
where  it  will  do  good,  to  mankind,  of  the  evils  men 
have  committed  in  their  unconverted  state.  The 
Apostle  Paul  confessed  that  he  had  persecuted  the 
Church  above  measure,  and  wasted  it,  when  he 
made  this  acknowledgment, — "  By  the  grace  of  God, 
I  am  what  I  am."  In  the  same  humble  and  sorrow- 
ful spirit  Sabat  described  to  a  worthy  and  learned 
clergyman  his  great  cruelty  to  a  companion  and 
friend,  with  whom  he  had  set  out  on  his  travels 
1* 


10  THE   ARABIAN   MARTYR. 

from  Persia ;  and  which  is  related  in  the  following 
pages :  — 

Abdallah  was  a  young  man  of  a  noble  family  in 
Arabia ;  and  having  a  desire  to  travel  into  foreign 
countries  to  acquire  a  further  knowledge  of  man- 
kind, he  united  himself  with  his  most  intimate 
friend,  the  before-mentioned  Sabat,  as  an  associate 
in  the  journey.  The  choice  of  our  companions  is 
peculiarly  important  to  our  happiness.  Solomon 
wisely  asks,  "  How  can  two  walk  together,  except 
they  be  agreed?"  and  as  face  answereth  to  face  in 
a  glass,  so  does  one  true  friend  assist  another.  God 
Almighty,  who  has  all  hearts  in  his  hand,  and 
knows  every  thing  that  will  happen  to  the  end  of 
the  world,  often  chooses  those  things  for  us  that  we 
would  not  choose  for  ourselves,  and  thereby  pro- 
motes all  the  good  purposes  of  his  will.  Abdallah 
and  Sabat,  when  they  left  their  homes,  were  most 
determined  and  zealous  Mahomedans ;  and,  there- 
fore, would  not  leave  Arabia  till  they  had  performed 
certain  religious  ceremonies  at  the  tomb  of  their 
prophet  Mahomed,  at  Mecca.  The  punctual  observ- 
ance of  the  many  superstitious  and  foolish  rites  of 
Mahomedanism,  rises  up  in  judgment  and  condemns 
Christians,  so  called,  for  their  wicked  neglect  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  public  worship,  and  their  abuse 
of  the  Sabbath.  In  the  times  of  Jeremiah  God  re- 
buked the  wickedness  of  Israel  by  the  obedience 
which  the  sons  of  Rechab  gave  to  all  their  father's 
commandments.  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
the  God  of  Israel :  Will  ye  not  receive  instruction 


THE    ARABIAN    MARTYR.  11 

to  hearken  to  mjp words?  The  words  of  Jonadab, 
the  son  of  Rechab,  that  he  commanded  his  sons  not 
to  drink  wine,  are  performed  ;  for  unto  this  day  they 
drink  none,  but  obey  their  father's  commandment: 
notwithstanding  I  have  spoken  unto  you,  rising 
early  and  speaking ;  but  ye  hearkened  not  unto 
we."  Jer.  xxxv. 

After  having  done  according  to  the  directions  of 
their  religion,  these  two  young  men  travelled  to- 
gether through  Persia,  and  from  thence  to  Cabul. 
At  this  place  Abdallah  was  appointed  to  an  office  of 
state  under  Zemaun  Shah,  the  King  of  Cabul.  This 
circumstance  separated  the  two  friends;  for  asSabat 
had  nothing  to  engage  him  to  continue  at  Cabul,  he 
left  his  companion,  and  proceeded  alone  on  a  jour- 
ney through  Tartary.  This  separation  was  as 
necessary  as  their  setting  out  together  to  occasion 
what  happened  to  each.  Abdallah,  as  we  said,  was 
left  at  Cabul,  exercising  the  duties  of  his  public 
situation :  and,  in  some  blessed  hour,  it  pleased 
God  that  he  should  meet  with  a  Bible  to  read,  and 
have  a  disposition  to  read  it.  You  may,  perhaps, 
ask,  How  came  this  Bible  at  Cabul,  where,  as  well 
as  in  all  other  Mahomedan  states,  it  is  death  for 
almost  any  man  to  profess  himself  a  Christian?  I 
answer,  God,  who  appointed  Abdallah  to  his  office 
in  Cabul,  by  which  he  was  detained  there  for  a 
season,  appointed  also  that  a  Christian  from  Arme- 
nia should  at  that  time  dwell  at  Cabul ;  and  that 
this  Christian,  or  his  Bible,  or  both,  should  come  in 
the  way  of  this  minister  of  state.    We  shall  by-and- 


12  THE   ARABIAN   MARTYR. 

by  see  that  every  Bible,  as  well  as  every  godly 
missionary,  had  its  commission.  Abdallah  was 
desirous  of  being  truly  religious ;  and,  therefore,  he 
did  not  neglect  this  heavenly  book,  as  many  people 
do,  but  he  read  it  continually:  and  the  more  he 
read  it,  the  better  he  understood  it ;  and  in  him  was 
fulfilled  the  promise  of  Christ, —  "  To  him  that  hath, 
shall  be  given."  The  Holy  Spirit,  who  can  influ- 
ence people's  hearts  at  Cabul  as  well  as  at  London, 
enabled  this  attentive  reader  to  understand  these 
Scriptures ;  and  though  there  was  no  Philip  sent  to 
instruct  Abdallah,  as  had  been  sent  to  instruct 
the  lord  high  treasurer  of  the  Queen  of  Ethiopia, 
mentioned  in  Acts  viii.  27;  yet  he  enjoyed  the 
better  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  Jesus 
Christ  promised  should  be  given  to  guide  his  peo- 
ple into  all  necessary  truth.  Christ  has  some 
people  every  where,  and  he  brings  them  to  heaven 
by  various  methods,  according  to  their  worldly 
circumstances,  and  as  may  the  most  glorify  his 
holy  name.  We  learn  hence  the  importance  of 
sending  the  Holy  Scriptures  into  all  the  world.  And 
we  know  not  how  far  a  single  book  may  travel ;  or 
into  whose  hands  it  may  come ;  or  what  great  good 
it  may  do. 

Abdallah  found  the  Gospel  to  be  its  own  witness. 
The  great  philosopher,  Locke,  has  said,  "  Search 
the  Scripture  :  it  hath  God  for  its  author,  salvation 
for  its  end,  and  truth  without  any  mixture  of  error 
for  its  subject-matter."  The  Arabian  nobleman 
found  its  description  of  man  as  a  sinner  to  be  true ; 


THE   ARABIAN   MARTYR.  23 

he  found  his  own  feelings  described  in  the  Psalms, 
and  in  the  gospels  and  epistles;  he  found  the 
method  of  being  saved  from  sin,  and  from  the 
wrath  to  come ;  he  discovered  that  his  Koran  was 
"  a  cunningly  devised  fable,"  and  he  threw  it  aside , 
he  found  the  Gospel  to  be  the  words  of  truth  and 
soberness.  Christ,  as  a  Saviour,  became  precious 
to  his  soul,  and  he  thought  he  loved  him  with  sin- 
cerity, and  desired  increasingly  to  love  him,  for  the 
great  love  Christ  had  shown  him  in  dying  for 
him,  and  again  living  to  intercede  for  him,  "  whom 
having  not  seen,  he  loved." 

What  would  Abdallah  have  given  to  enjoy,  as  we 
enjoy,  such  opportunities  of  worshipping  Jesus 
Christ  in  houses  of  public  prayer!  And  how 
ought  this  to  shame  thousands  who  neglect  God's 
sabbaths  and  ordinances?  As  it  was  certain  death 
for  an  Arabian  nobleman  to  become  a  Christian, 
Abdallah  for  some  time  endeavored  to  conceal  his 
conversion,  but  finding  it  was  not  possible  to  do  so 
long,  he  determined  to  travel  to  some  of  the  Chris- 
tian Churches  of  which  he  had  heard,  near  the 
Caspian  Sea.  He  felt  he  had  a  right  to  do  so, 
because  our  Saviour  had  said,  "  If  they  persecute 
you  in  one  city,  flee  unto  another."  But  so  won- 
derful are  the  ways  of  God,  that  the  means  he  used 
to  escape  death  proved  the  occasion  of  hastening  it. 
As  to  his  bodily  life,  "  in  fleeing  from  the  pit  he 
fell  into  the  snare." 

Abdallah  left  Cabul  in  disguise,  and  arrived  at 
the  great  City  of  Bochara,  in  Tartary.    In  the 


14  THE    ARABIAN   MARTYR. 

streets  of  the  city  he  was  unexpectedly  met  by  his 
friend  Sabat,  who  immediately  knew  him  and  en- 
tered into  conversation  with  him.  Sabat  had  heard 
that  he  had  become  a  Christian,  and  that  he  had 
left  his  employment  at  Cabul ;  and  like  a  true 
Mahomedan,  who  supposes  his  is  the  best  religion 
in  the  world,  Sabat  was  filled  with  anger  at  the 
conduct  of  his  friend.  Here  we  see  the  difference 
between  the  religion  of  Christ  and  that  of  Maho- 
med. Our  Gospel  teaches  us  to  do  good  unto  all 
men — to  be  angry  with  nothing  but  sin.  Sabat's 
wrath  would  not  have  been  so  hot  against  Abdal- 
lah  for  being  a  liar,  a  thief,  or  a  lewd  person,  as  it 
was  for  being  a  Christian,  that  is,  a  real  disciple  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Had  the  ignorant  and 
prejudiced  Sabat  known  at  this  time  what  he  knew 
afterward,  how  differently  he  would  have  acted  ! 
Abdallah  knew  what  dangerous  circumstances  lie 
was  in,  and  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  Sabat.  He 
boldly,  however,  confessed  that  he  had  become  a 
disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  hoped  nothing  would 
separate  him  from  the  love  of  his  Saviour :  and 
told  his  friend  of  the  means  which  occasioned  his 
conversion,  and  that  his  heart,  as  well  as  his  opi- 
nion, was  totally  altered  respecting  Mahomed  and 
Christ,  and  implored  him  by  the  sacred  ties  of 
their  former  friendship  to  let  him  escape  with  his 
life  !  But  Sabat  had  no  pity  !  He  caused  his  ser- 
vants to  seize  him,  and  he  was  delivered  up  to 
Morad  Shah,  King  of  Bochara.  In  this  Sabat  was 
not  unlike  Saul  of  Tarsus,   who  was  afterward 


THE   ARABIAN   &ARTYR.  15 

Paul  the  Apostle.     He  was  so  zealous  to  preserve 
the  Jewish  religion  entire  against  the  inroads  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  that  when  very  young,  he 
took  care  of  the  clothes  of  those  who  stoned  hftly 
Stephen  to  death.    (Acts  vii.)      This   same   Saul, 
naturally  of  a  zealous  temper,  made  havoc  of  the 
Church  of  Christ;  and  entering  into  every  house 
where  Christians  were  suspected  to  dwell,  he  com- 
mitted  a  great  number  of  men   and   women  to 
prison.   (Acts  viii.  3.)     After  his  conversion   he 
gives  this  account  of  himself  to  King  Agrippa— 
"  I  verily  thought  with  myself,  that  I  ought  to  do 
many  things   contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus   of 
Nazareth.     Which  thing  I  also  did  in  Jerusalem  : 
and  many  of  the  saints  did  I  shut  up,  in  prison, 
having  received  authority  from  the  chief  priests; 
and  when  they  were  put  to  death  I  gave  my  voice 
against  them.     And  I  punished  them  oft  in  every 
synagogue,   and   being  exceedingly  mad  against 
them,  I  persecuted  them  even  unto  strange  cities  " 
(Acts  xxvi.  9-11.) 

Very  soon  after  his  apprehension,  Abdallah  was 
sentenced  to  die  for  giving  up  the  religion  of 
Mahomed  and  embracing  the  religion  of  Christ  ; 
and  a  herald  went  through  the  City  of  Bocharah 
proclaiming  the  hour  of  his  execution.  If  Abdal- 
lah at  this  time  was  enabled  to  recollect  that 
through  much  tribulation  some  are  called  to  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God,  it  must  have  been  a  great 
consolation  to  him.  We  are  sure  of  this— thai  the 
Lord  stood  by  him,  and  taught  him  not  to  count 


16  THE   ARABIAN   MARTYR. 

his  life  dear  unto  him,  so  that  he  might  glorify 
Christ  his  Saviour.  Perhaps  he  might  recollect 
the  account  of  the  three  pious  young  men  in  the 
kingdom  of  Babylon,  who  were  threatened  to  be 
cast  into  a  burning  fiery  furnace  if  they  did  not 
worship  the  image  that  Nebuchadnezzar  had  set 
up,  but  who  said  to  the  king — "  We  are  not  care- 
ful to  answer  thee  in  this  matter.  If  it  be  so,  our 
God,  whom  we  serve,  is  able  to  deliver  us  out  of 
thine  hand,  O  king:  "  or  perhaps  he  might  recol- 
lect the  case  of  Daniel,  a  servant  of  the  most  high 
God,  who  was  cast  into  a  den  of  lions,  only  be- 
cause he  prayed  and  "  made  supplications  to  the 
Lord  of  heaven  three  times  a  day."  (Dan.  iii.  and 
vi.  16.) 

An  immense  multitude  attended,  as  might  be 
expected,  on  so  unusual  an  occasion  as  the  taking 
away  a  man's  life  for  the  sake  of  religion  ;  some 
full  of  anger  at  Abdallah's  apostacy  from  his  belief 
in  Mahomed  ;  and  some,  no  doubt,  full  of  pity  that  a 
man  who  had  done  no  harm  to  his  fellow-creatures, 
but  only  thought  differently  from  them,  should  be 
put  to  death  ;  and  some  were  merely  led  by  curi- 
osity, caring  neither  for  Abdallah  nor  Mahomed. 
Among  the  multitude,  the  chief  men  of  the  city 
assembled.  Sabat,  once  his  friend,  now  his  perse- 
cutor, stood  near  to  Abdallah.  He  ought  rather  to 
have  gone  to  the  king,  and  confessed  that  he  had 
grievously  sinned  in  betraying  a  man  against 
whom  nothing  could  be  charged,  except  what 
related  to  his  obedience  to  the  Lord  Christ.    At 


THE    ARABIAN    MARTYR.  17 

the  place  of  execution  Abdallah  was  offered  his  life 
if  he  would  renounce  Christ  and  acknowledge 
Mahomed  to  be  the  true  prophet; — the  executioner 
standing  by  him  with  a  sword  in  his  hand.  "  No ;" 
said  he, — as  if  it  were  impossible  to  comply  with 
the  proposal — ;*  No  ;  I  cannot  abjure  Christ  ! "  On 
this  declaration  one  of  his  hands  was  cut  off  at  the 
wrist!  The  Christian,  however,  now  supported 
by  the  grace  of  Christ,  who  has  promised  to  honor 
those  who  honor  him,  stood  firm  to  his  holy  pur- 
pose, while  the  arm,  from  which  the  hand  had 
been  cut  off,  was  hanging  by  his  side  with  little 
motion.  A  surgeon,  by  desire  of  the  king,  offered 
to  heal  the  stump  of  the  arm  if  he  would  recant. 
To  this  offer  Abdallah  made  no  reply.  He  had  no 
Christian  friend  to  mention  to  him  some  of  the 
great  and  precious  promises  of  God  in  the  Scrip- 
ture for  his  consolation: — such  as,  "When  thou 
passest  through  the  fire,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  I  will 
be  with  thee."  "  I  will  be  with  thee,"  saith  God, 
"  in  six  troubles,  and  in  seven  I  will  not  forsake 
thee."  But  he  enjoyed  the  comforts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  his  soul,  which  were  neither  few  nor 
small.  God  was  with  him.  He  looked  Vip  stead- 
fastly toward  heaven,  like  holy  Stephen,  his  eyes 
at  the  time  streaming  with  tears.  Sabat  observed 
with  surprise  that  Abdallah,  in  the  midst  of  his 
sufferings,  looked  at  him  not  with  anger,  but  with 
a  countenance  of  forgiveness.  We  see  the  love 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  inspires  in  true  Christians. 
Abdallah  did  not  look  with  anger  on  his  persecutor, 


18  THE    ARABIAN   MARTYR. 

Sabat,  but  with  forgiveness ;  perhaps,  like  good 
Stephen,  he  prayed  for  him,  "  Lord,  lay  not  this 
sin  to  his  charge  :"  or  like  his  divine  Master,  "  Fa- 
ther, forgive  him  !  for  he  knows  not  what  he  does." 
These,  or  the  like  prayers,  were  heard  on  behalf  of 
Sabat;  and  God  fitted  him  for  the  work  of  trans- 
lating the  Holy  Scriptures  into  a  language  by 
which  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  may  be- 
come wise  unto  salvation.  Abdallah's  other  hand 
was  then  cut  off,  but  his  heart  was  fixed,  trusting  in 
the  Lord.  He  still  remained  determined  to  abide 
by  all  consequences,  rather  than  renounce  his  hope 
of  salvation  through  Christ  ;  and  when  he  bowed 
his  head  to  receive  the  mortal  stroke,  all  Bochara 
seemed  to  say,  "  What  new  thing  is  this?" 

We  see  the  steadfastness  of  mind  that  true  reli- 
gion inspires.  Abdallah  submitted  to  death  rather 
than  renounce  Christ  as  his  Saviour ;  and,  therefore, 
people  who  will  not  bear  being  reviled  for  Chris- 
tianity by  a  wicked  world  are  not  Christians. 

"Whosoever,"  said  Christ  to  his  disciples, 
"  shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words,  in 
this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  of  him  also 
shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed,  when  he  cometh 
in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  the  holy  angels." 
In  the  11th  chapter  of  the  Hebrews,  we  read  of  the 
triumphs  of  faith  in  ancient  times: — tha,t  some 
"were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,  that 
they  might  obtain  a  better  resurrection :  and  others 
had  trial  of  cruel  mockings — of  bonds  and  impri- 
sonments—they were  stoned  —  they  were  sawn 


THE    ARABIAN    MARTYR.  19 

asunder  —  were  tempted  —  were  slain  with  the 
sword  :  they  wandered  about  in  sheep-skins  and 
goat-skins,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented — of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy."  "They  over- 
came all  their  sufferings  through  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony  ;  and 
they  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death."  Abdal- 
lah  was  faithful  unto  death,  and  has  received  a 
crown  of  life.  His  immortal  spirit  is  now  among 
the  noble  army  of  martyrs,  who  are  unceasingly 
praising  God. 

Sabat  had  indulged  the  hope  that  Abdallah  would 
have  recanted  when  he  was  offered  his  life;  but 
when  he  saw  that  his  friend  was  dead,  he  gave 
himself  up  to  grief  and  remorse.  He  travelled 
from  place  to  place,  seeking  rest,  but  found  none. 
At  last  he  thought  that  he  would  visit  India,  as  we 
have  mentioned. 

There,  as  has  been  said,  he  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, and  was  very  useful  in  the  work  of  trans- 
lating the  Scriptures:  he  however  apostatized  from 
the  Christian  faith,  and  wrote  a  tract  in  favor  of 
his  former  religion.  It  pleased  God  that  he  should 
write  against  his  own  book,  and  again  embrace  the 
Gospel.  After  this  he  fell  into  the  power  of  the 
Mahomedans,  and  for  some  real  or  pretended  trea- 
son, after  six  months'  confinement,  he  was  tied  up 
in  a  sack  and  thrown  into  the  sea.  The  tyrant 
who  did  this  has  since  been  driven  from  his 
throne. 

THE    END. 


20  THE   ARABIAN   MARTYR. 

THE      FIRST      MARTYR. 

Acts  vi.  8-15;  v?i. 

Stephen,  full  of  faith  and  power, 
Wonders  wrought,  in  Jesus'  name, 

Till  his  life's  last  trying  hour, 
When  a  martyr  he  became. 

Calmly  did  he  stand  and  hear 

Charges  false  against  him  brought; 

And  unmoved  by  shame  or  fear, 
To  defend  the  truth  he  sought. 

Heavenward  as  he  turned  his  eyes, 
While  they  gnash  their  teeth  with  rage, 

Scenes  of  glory,  in  the  skies, 
Did  the  martyr's  soul  engage. 

"  There,"  he  said,  "at  God's  right  hand, 
Christ,  the  Son  of  Man,  I  see! 

Near  the  throne  does  Jesus  stand, 
Interceding  there  for  me  !  " 

Then  was  Stephen  stoned  to  death, 
Calling  on  the  name  divine  : 

"  Jesus  !  "  said  his  dying  breath, 
"  O  receive  this  soul  of  mine!" 

Kneeling  down,  aloud  he  cried, 

"  Lord,  do  thou  their  sins  forgive  \n 

Thus,  like  Jesus,  Stephen  died, 
Praying  that  his  foes  might  live. 

Heavenly  Father  !  teach  us  thus 
To  forgive  and  pray  for  those 

Who  despise  or  injure  us; 
Teach  us  thus  to  love  our  foes. 


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